Hans Bonesrønning

Teacher sorting, teacher quality, and student composition

Abstract Using panel data for Norwegian schools, we establish a two-equation supply and demand model for teachers with approved education. Taking into account nationally determined teacher pay and a strict teacher appointment rule, the data enable us to separately estimate supply and demand functions for certified teachers. The results clearly indicate that the student body composition, and in particular students belonging to ethnic minorities, influences both teacher supply and teacher demand. The implied negative relationship between excess demand for certified teachers and the share of minority students is likely to be important for teacher quality.

Efficiency Variation Among the Norwegian High Schools: Consequences of Equalization Policy

Abstract The performance of the regulated school system in Norway is investigated by analyzing the relationship between resource use and student achievement in 34 Norwegian high schools. The marginal school effect on student achievement is estimated, and the output of the schools is described by the number of graduates and the school effect. Using this separation between quantity and quality, a reference frontier representing best practice among the schools is established by Data Envelopment Analysis, and the technical efficiencies are measured. The schools have very different student achievements, but the variation is not related to differences in resource use. The school system is oriented towards the equalization of student results, but the schools show systematic differences in the handling of high and low achievers.

The determinants of parental effort in education production: do parents respond to changes in class size?

The present paper supplements the traditional class size literature by exploring the causal relationship between class size and parental effort in education production. Class size variation that is exogenous to parental effort comes from interaction between enrollment and a maximum class size rule of 30 students in the lower secondary school in Norway. The class size rule is used to generate a credible instrument for class size, and moreover, the discontinuities generated by the class size rule are used explicitly to reveal potential class size effects (Quart J Econ 114 (1999) 533). The evidence is not conclusive, but there are indications that parents tend to reduce their efforts as class size increases, in particular when class size increases from low levels.

Do the teachers' grading practices affect student achievement?

The present paper explores empirically the relationship between teacher grading and student achievement. The hypothesis is that the teachers can manipulate student effort, and hence student achievement, by choosing the proper grading practices. The grading model is analogous to a labor supply model, where the teachers can set the marginal returns to achievement or determine the grade level that is independent of real achievement. The empirical analysis shows that grading differences in the lower secondary school in Norway are much like differences in non‐labor income and, further, that students who are exposed to hard grading perform significantly better than other students.

Disadvantaged students in the early grades: will smaller classes help them?

This paper uses data from the Norwegian elementary school to test whether students from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit from smaller classes. The data cover one cohort of fourth graders who have been treated in small versus large classes for a period of three years. The Norwegian class size rule of maximum 28 students is used to generate credible exogenous class size variation. We find significant class size effects for the subgroup of students with parents who are educated at or below the upper secondary school level, and for the subgroup of students from dissolved families. The estimated effects for the former subgroup are smaller than those reported from STAR, while the effects for the latter subgroup are within the range reported from the STAR-studies.

Student Body Composition and School Performance: Evidence from Norway

The relationship between student achievement gains and the student body composition in Norwegian upper secondary schools is investigated using a multi-level model that takes explicit account of the assignment of students to departments. A reference frontier that represents the best practice among the schools is estimated, and inefficient schools and inefficient departments are identified. It is then shown that student achievement gains vary substantially between efficient schools of different size and different student body composition. Some suggestive evidence about the relationship between achievement gains in efficient schools and the student body composition is presented.

School Characterisitcs and Student Achievement: Evidence from Combined Upper Secondary Schools in Norway

Most upper secondary schools in Norway are so-called sombined schools, where vocational and general departments exist side. This paper investigates whether school characteristics—the number if departments and the size of the academic department—affect the performance of academic stuents. It is shown that student achievement deteriorates when the number of departments increases and that there is an optimal department size dependent on the initial level of knowledge of the average students. The paper takes account of the teachers may be non-randomly distributed among the schools.

Are parental effort allocations biased by gender

It is well established that girls outperform boys in schools, but the available empirical evidence suggests that the determinants of the gender achievement gap are poorly understood. The present paper looks inside families for explanations. Rich data for families with children in the lower secondary school in Norway are used to investigate whether parents’ allocations of educational efforts are biased by gender. It is shown that parents allocate more efforts to girls than to boys, and also, that there is a negative correlation between parental efforts and prior achievements. The compensating resource allocations are more evident for boys than for girls.

Can student effort be manipulated? Does it matter?

This article provides evidence that college students’ effort can be manipulated substantially by making changes in the college testing regime and moreover that student effort is a meaningful input in education production. The evidence comes from a quasi-experiment where a mid-semester test with a pass requirement is introduced to a mandatory one-semester Business School course in Macroeconomics. Four cohorts of students – one before and three after the introduction of the pass requirement – have reported their study effort twice during the semester, and the relationship between achievement and study effort is investigated by using a within-subject within-student across-study periods approach.